RITI MOHAPATRA

H-309, Sarojini Naidu Hall of Residence, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur -721302

Phone :( +91)-97344-29259 E-mail: ritimohapatra@gmail.com
Date of Birth: 17/11/1984
Education:

Year Examination, Board Performance Rank
2007 8
th
semester, Dual Degree (B.Tech & M.Tech) in Biotechnology and
Biochemical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
8.55 (CGPA) 2/12
2003 Std XII, CHSE
BJ B J unior College, Bhubaneswar.
84.4% State 10
th


2001 Std X, ICSE
St. J osephs High School, Bhubaneswar.
96.33% State 1
st


Academic Achievements:

NTSE scholar 2001 (National Talent Search Examination).
Utkal Jyoti recipient 2001, awarded to the top 10 students in the Orissa State Scholarhsip Examination.
Sambit Memorial Award 2002, for scoring highest marks in Std XI Science among 512 students, BJ B J unior College,
Bhubaneswar

Projects and Internships:
Dual Degree Project, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur (January 2006 - till date). Development of fibroin -
sodium carboxymethylcellulose blended films for biomedical applications. I have worked on the creation of a new biomaterial
by blending the silk protein fibroin with a polymer and evaluating its potential in biomedical applications. The work carried out
is presently being compiled for publication.
Summer Internship, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune (May - June 2006). Biotransformation reactions with
nitrilases, amidases and nitrile hydratases from Rhodococcus sp. I attempted to hydrolyze the Strecker product of benzyl
amine to an active antifungal compound using Rhodococcus cultures, since regular acid or alkali hydrolysis had failed to
achieve this conversion. A cell based system could not give the desired result as it led to the degradation of the substrate within
the cells. Therefore a cell free system was designed which was successful in executing the conversion.
Summer Internship, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad (June July 2005). Analysis of
Fatbody Transcriptome of Bacteria Challenged Indian Tasar Silkmoth Antheraea mylitta. I had analyzed a repertoire of ESTs
of infected silkworm larvae to profile the expression of immune genes. The work has been published in BMC Genomics and
my contribution has been acknowledged therein.
Summer Vacation Training Program, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar (May 1999). I underwent two weeks of training
and also worked on a small project titled Current through randomly generated circuits.

Other Achievements:

Best Outgoing Student 2001, St. J osephs High School, Bhubaneswar.
Best Guide, St. J osephs High School Bhubaneswar, 2000-2001.
Recipient of Rajya Puraskar (Governors award) in Girl Guides, 2001.
Best Fresher, SN Hall of Residence, IIT Kharagpur, 2003-04.


Positions of Responsibility:

Executive Editor, The Scholars Avenue, campus newspaper, 2007-08 Leading a self-financed team of 26 members to
publish 4000 copies of an issue each fortnight.

Second Senate Member, SN/IG Hall of Residence, 2006-07 Handled the hall administration along with the Hall President.
Solved the problem of accommodation for the year 2006-07, successfully managing an excess of 62 students
Laid down the accommodation plan for the year 2007-08, to deal with an excess of 106 students.
Planned and organized the Hall Day celebrations - bringing down costs of construction by 80% and simultaneously
eliminating potential security problems.
Led the Rangoli team, in the absence of a captain, to win the Silver Medal in 2006, for the first time in 5 years.

Vice-President, Association of Biotechnologists, 2006-07 Conducted various departmental activities throughout the year,
and organized the National Science Day 2007 celebrations with participation from 4 local schools and 3 colleges.

Publicity Team Head, Spring Fest 2006 Handled the publicity of the biggest social and cultural fest of eastern India.
Introduced a new poster for better event publicity and achieved greater participation in several events.
Secured sponsorship worth Rs 75,000 from HLL.
Delegated responsibilities to 300 students to ensure smooth running of the fest.

Governor, Hindi Technology Dramatics Society, 2006-07 Conducted workshops for freshers and directed the Freshers
Production.

Member, Publicity Team, Spring Fest 2005 Reached out to 22 colleges in Orissa, whereby the fest witnessed an increase of
over 200 participants.

Dramatics Secretary, SN/IG Hall of Residence, 2004-05 Was responsible for the participation of the hall in the Open IIT
and Inter-Hall dramatics events. Our hall team won Bronze in Inter-Hall Hindi Dramatics, with a record participation of 77
actors. I was also able to cut down expenditure and save money to buy durable props for future use.

House Leader, St. J osephs High School, Bhubaneswar, 2000-01 Led my house to victory in the Inter-House Cultural
Programme Competition, May Day, 2000

Extra-Curriculars:
Fine arts:
Silver, Inter Hall Postering Competition 2004-05.
Silver, Inter Hall Collaging Competition 2004-05.
Bronze, Inter Hall Collaging Competition 2005-06.
Dramatics:
Best Actress, Open IIT English Dramatics, 2003-04.
Gold, Pratyancha 2004, IIM Calcutta Dramatics Festival.
Gold, Open IIT English Dramatics, 2003-2004.
Gold, Open IIT Hindi Dramatics, 2004-05.
Silver, Nukkad, Spring Fest 2005.
Bronze, Inter Hall Hindi Dramatics 2004-05.
Bronze, Inter Hall Choreography 2005-06.
Member of Banjara, a professional theatre group on campus.
Community Service:
Taught and interacted with children of villages around the campus of IIT Kharagpur, under the National Service Scheme.
Created a picture English-Hindi Dictionary for them.
Initiated administrative action on improper waste disposal in the institute departments by highlighting the issue to the
Registrar, IIT Kharagpur.